The Imperfections We Share
Chapter One: The Second Meeting
Please note, that I have not played the games only because I'm incredibly bad at such things... :( and also, because I do not possess the correct game console. Therefore, you will have to accept that I will focus on series one (the only series) of the anime, and the 2 volume manga. Because of this, only characters seen in the anime and manga will be used. There will be at least one OC (original character) who isn't an original character, because he is from a CLAMP manga... but he doesn't come in yet. Enjoy.
~:~:~:~
"Laharl-san... lost his memories!?" the blonde angel's eyes widened in horror as she sank to the ground, "No! That's not fair!"
The Seraph peered down at his daughter. "Flonne. Are you upset for Prince Laharl, or for the shattering of our peace contract?" he asked.
"For... both, I guess. It would be horrible to loose your memories, and your parents all at once. But otau-san, I don't think I fully understand what his loss means towards the contract."
"Prince Laharl will awaken after the loss of his mother, with all his memories from his childhood intact. It is you, Flonne, that he and Etna will no longer remember." Flonne gasped, her wings quivering just a little. True, Laharl had never enjoyed her company terribly, but she had enjoyed his. "As your engagement had not been publicly announced, no one will know who you are."
"That's terrible. I had made friends with them! Please otau-san, let me help the Prince!"
"That's not so simple. You see, you can't stay in The Netherworld without suffering; before, you had their assent as a fiancée to the Prince, but now, without the Prince's permission, you can't possibly enter. I could devise a plan... but be aware, he will have regressed to who he was before he met you. You may not be entirely willing to help him at such a time; if I allow you to go, you have no choice but to see it through to the end. Are you going to accept that?"
Flonne raised her blue eyes to her fathers. "Anything to help Laharl! Please otau-san!"
The Seraph bowed his head, and released a heavy sigh. "Very well Flonne. Be careful. Listen closely..."
~:~:~:~
Flonne stared at the flaming gates before her and sighed, "I'm here. Again. Wait for me Laharl, don't worry; I'll get your memories back for you, and we can find out exactly what happened to you!" her eyes flashed with determination.
The gates swung open, and, straightening her pale dress out, she stepped through, knowing that although the new Overlord expected her, he didn't know who she was anymore. His highness was under a very different impression now, but she supposed her father's ruse did bring her down to his level, ever so slightly.
"Hurry up already!" a woman from the doorway bellowed through a mega-phone. Flonne pondered where the mega-phone came from, but knew that this demon was full of surprises.
"Yes ma'am!" she cheered, and hurried down the red-soiled pathway until she reached the red head in black leather.
"Huh. So, you're this mystery angel right?" crimson eyes narrowed as they studied her, and Flonne edged back slightly. She was relieved to see that Etna was in perfect condition, however, and could barely repress her delight. "Wonder why His Highness hired you. But whatever, ain't my business. Still, what crime did ya committ to get landed as the Overlord's vassal?"
Flonne clasped her hands before her and smiled, "Well, to be honest, I'm not quite sure! Ot- uh, that is, the Seraph said it was the worst crime an angel could possibly committ, but I have no idea what that is!"
"So, what, you were a regular little hellraiser? Lie, steal, cheat? Anything like that?" Etna pressed, hoping she'd found someone to help her tease Laharl.
"No, nothing like that." The angel shrugged, "No idea, really."
"Damn." Etna now examined the young girl, whose overall appearance was too innocent to be sent her to The Netherworld. She shuddered; forced to work beneath the Overlord Laharl, no punishment was worse! "I was thinking you were sorta demonic or something."
"Demonic! Ha, good one Etna!"
"Etna? How'd you know my name...?"
Flonne clapped a hand over her mouth in horror, "Oh, um, Ot- the... Seraph mentioned you." Flonne wasn't used to lying, but if it meant she could restore Etna and Laharl's memories, there was nothing more that she could desire. It was a necessity. Her otau-san, the Seraph Lamington, had persuaded the Prince that an angel in Celestia had committed a foul sin, and as punishment, they were requesting that the angel be forced to work for him a total of one year.
Flashback:
"Flonne, I can allow you just 12 months. After that, I fear we may be forced to give in. Until that time, I will research persistantly for a way to restore his memories, while it does not interfere with my duties as Seraph. Now, be careful down there, won't you?"
"Yes, otau-san."
End Flashback
Flonne remembered her instructions, and knew that Etna and Laharl could not be aware that she was who she was, for they would be offended, retract their permission, and she would have to return. Angels in The Netherworld would die without the Overlord's permission, and though Celestians had attempted to create charms, few lasted more than a few hours. The Overlord would need a reason, and so they had provided the crime theory. He would also want a time limit. 12 months, after which Flonne knew the task was likely impossible. 'Hopefully,' she thought, 'if I cannot give their memories to them, I can make them as kind as they were back then... it would even be nice if he could respect me, a little.' Flonne deeply admired the Prince, and Etna too, and what with the kindness and slight friendship they had shown her when she was young, living in The Netherworld, she felt indebted to them.
"So, little angel, what's your name?" Etna asked.
"Forgive me, I am sorry not to have said; my name is Flonne, it's a pleasure to meet you Etna... san?"
Etna smiled, "Yeah, 'san' will do, Flonne." The angel was pleased that Etna failed to add a suffix to her name at all, whether out of disrespect or friendliness, she didn't really mind. At the very least, a part of Etna was behaving the same towards her as she always had. Did that mean that Flonne had never had any impact on her? Flonne supposed that probably didn't matter, the real problem was Laharl. And yet... why was she so worried about the Overlord anyway? Laharl was no longer her concern. She almost slapped herself for thinking something so terrible; of course Laharl was her concern, as an angel, everyone was. Besides, Laharl might not remember, but she was still his fiancée!
"Flonne, are you nervous about working for the almighty Overlord Laharl?" Etna asked, perhaps overdoing things to scare her a little. Even though Flonne thought Laharl was anything but mighty, she couldn't help but nod her head. Yes, for she was nervous about seeing the demon boy again, after a full month. To think, she'd had to leave The Netherworld for a whole month, it was strange! She was a Celestian, and belonged there, but she'd been in The Netherworld for such a long time, that to her, it was home.
"Well, I would be too," Etna chuckled, "The Prince is feeling very annoyed right now. Make sure he really believes you're a crook, ok?"
"Why?"
"Because, he doesn't like being lied to. And let's face it, you don't even know what you did wrong, so he's gonna have to be suspicious; now really, did Seraph whatsy send you down here to spy?"
Flonne's Imagination:
"Flonne!!!"
"Yes Otau-san?"
"Let's go spy on The Netherworld! Oh, and do you like my bonsai? What about my cake? I know, let's sneak some pink cake filled with love into the Prince's castle!"
End.
"No way. Seraph Lamington would never do that..." she trailed off, thinking that actually, her otau-san was very likely to tease Laharl. At least, he would have if Laharl would be able to remember them. "Well, maybe he would, but it'd probably be more for fun than actual gain," she amended.
"Sounds like a weirdo," Etna noted. Flonne was about to defend her 'master', but realised that Etna was undeniably right... unfortunately, her otau-san was a strange man. "Well, Miss Criminal, here we are. The castle of the Overlord... good luck hun."
"Y-you're not coming with me?"
"Are you kidding? I wouldn't wanna miss this!"
Flonne edged away from her ex-friend slightly, a feeling of paranoia infecting her. If Etna was excited about hanging out with Laharl, it meant things were goiing to get ugly. Really fast. "U-uh, Etna-san...?"
"Yes'm?"
"Um... will Laharl... I mean, Overlord Laharl really get scary?"
"What gives you that impression?" Etna mocked surprise.
"Gut feeling," the angel replied flatly, suspecting that now might be a good time to run. However, her determination to help her friends urged her onwards. Laharl had been getting so nice at the end, and it was too sad that he should revert now!
"Not going to try running?" Etna asked, mildly confused by the happiness Flonne exuded at the thought of seeing Laharl. Laharl, the evil Overlord whom she knew the Celestians had knowledge of; Laharl occasionally e-mailed them details of his exploits to rattle them. The last she heard, the Seraph had replied with a 'well done' and a smiley giving a thumbs up. Laharl had not reacted well, for Etna had read the angry letter he sent then, and seen his face and in particular the office. Needless to say, the Seraph had yet to answer him. "You're really weird Flonne. But I get this feeling... I know you somehow. You sure you're not a cheater?"
"P-positive!" she squeaked, her heart racing. Close, she was nearly found out! Etna and Laharl were to remain oblivious of her... and if they did by some chance find out, then she had to make sure Laharl knew first. One thing she knew about the agressive demon, was that he always wanted to be 'in the know'. "I don't cause trouble, and I really am confused about why the Seraph sent me down here!" she insisted, relieved that she hadn't called the Seraph 'otau-san', which would be a grave mistake. Etna rose her eyebrows at her strange outburst, but made no further comment, signalling with a wave of her hand that Flonne should now follow her in silence. And who was Flonne to disobey?
They slowly meandered down hallways, arches towering above them. Flonne was not intimidated. She had missed these creepy gargoyles and stone pillars. Her eyes shone as she held back tears of both grief and joy, running her fingers along a banister. She did the same thing some time ago, when her father had first brought her to the castle to meet her new 'fiancée', a term which at the time had meant nothing to her. Now, however, as she glanced ahead of her at the doors behind which she knew she would face the same boy, she knew it meant a lot more. Flonne understood love very well, at least, that was what she liked to believe, and she knew that what she felt for Laharl was not love. But it was a deep friendship she'd gained over her childhood, a friendship filled with respect, care, and a profound loyalty. If this friendship did not mean so much, she would not be here now, trying to make him remember that friendship. And, in the approaching future, she would not make such a sacrifice.
"Highness!!!" Etna called through the doors, and a grunt answered her, followed by an 'enter'. How original.
Flonne wet her lips nervously, and edged through the door, clasping her hands behind her back, suddenly incredibly self-conscious. Etna skipped forward cheerfully to stand beside the throne, while Flonne closed the door carefully, and painfully slowly, made her way to the foot of the aforementioned throne. Atop this throne, sat a boy roughly Flonne's age, with blue-purple hair, two 'antenae' like pieces of his hair standing above his head. For now, his eyes were closed, but Flonne knew those eyes were a deep, burning scarlett, like the scarf around his neck, which only slightly covered his bare chest. He wore thick gold bands around his wrists, and a pair of red shorts, grey at the bottom, and held up by a black belt. He sat with his head supported by his hand, with his elbow resting on the arm of his throne. Pointed ears traced her progress across the expansive hall, and as she knelt down before him, a single eye opened lazily to observe her. Again, Flonne gulped.
"And, you are?" he asked. This startled her; he had asked, rather than demanded. Not only that, but he was calm. She bit the inside of her cheek to stop herself from reacting, and also to relax herself, especially because of the unexpected joy she had felt upon hearing his almost forgotten voice.
Etna answered for her, "She is the criminal angel, Prince. The angel trainee, Flonne. The crime is not specified, and Flonne says she has no idea what crime she committed, sir."
Laharl shifted his gaze (still through just one eye) to the tall demoness at his side. "Oh really? How do we know the Seraph didn't lie to us then?"
Flonne realised he would likely believe foully of what he now considered his great enemy, but it still displeased her. All the same, for once, she succeeded in holding her tongue, without physically taking a firm grasp on the appendage.
Once again, Etna replied on her behalf, "Well oh great overlord," she began teasingly, and immediately both of Laharl's eyes opened. It was a small display of body language, but it was a sign that he was no longer relaxed; he knew Etna well. "We generally trust your judgement, and it was you, after all, who spoke to the Seraph when he requested Flonne be in service of you as punishment. Are you possibly suggesting you made false judgement?" her eyes widened dramatically.
Laharl jumped to his feet, and Flonne did not miss the clenched fists, and the faint scent of smoke that drifted throughout the air. Oh boy, she was in for one of his infamous displays, wasn't she? Such things she remembered only occured when Etna was around, unless Laharl lost his cool when she was absent. Probably, she concluded, thinking it over. She also noticed that she was being unusually quiet about this matter. However, it occured to her dense brain that now she was no longer protected from Laharl's wrath, and for the time being, at least, it was better to remain inconspicuous. This did not mean she would fail to interfere, should things look bad for Etna, whom she knew was very good at evading Laharl's attacks, from experience.
"Etna..." he growled low, a warning to her. Flonne prepared to intercede, if he got violent, but Etna merely smirked, waved a hand, and pointed back down at the angel.
"Listen, Prince, if she is an angelic spy... which, I rather doubt, looking at her," both of them glanced briefly at the innocent creature kneeling before them, "Then you don't really want her relaying to her master that the prince of The Netherworld is so easily provoked, do you now?" she smiled cheekily.
The flames that currently swirled around Laharl's left hand eventually petered out, and he stiffly resumed his seat. "No, I suppose I don't..." he glared at her for a moment, and Flonne glimsed the tip of his white fang sticking out of his mouth. 'Kind of cute,' she thought, not noticing the nature of such an errant thought. It said something about the dark-hearted demon prince, that his teeth actually were white, while so many others never took care of their teeth, though Flonne noted, they never seemed to rot away. Peering at Etna, she was pleased to see another white set of fangs. 'Wish I had fangs sometimes,' she thought, 'They look cool, and I wouldn't mind being "cool" sometimes.'
The demons returned their attention to Flonne, and Laharl looked her up and down critically. She hurriedly bent her face to the floor, and only raised it when she heard him grumble. "U-uh, I'm Flonne, and I came to..."
"I am perfectly aware, idiot. Etna, show her what to do and get her working now. I'm tired, and gonna sleep. Make her cook something," he interrupted, a little rudely, but still necessary to stop Flonne from pointlessly repeating known information, and rose once more to his feet, striding past Flonne without acknowledging her, and out the doors.
Etna blinked in shock, and Flonne mumbled, "Did he just... dismiss me?"
"P-prince, wait!!" Etna shrieked, chasing after him, "She's way too innocent like, I think you've been scammed!!!"
A smoking crater erupted where Etna had been standing a split second before, and she backed up, seeing that the direction in which the ball of light had come from was coincedentally the same direction Laharl was in, bowing slightly. "Right. I'll show her what to do, got it!" and she topped it all off with a polite salute, hurrying to Flonne's side as the huge doors slammed shut. "Guess he isn't in the mood..." she muttered.
"What do you want me to do, Etna-san? Say the word!" Flonne cried enthusiastically.
Etna surveyed her with ningling doubt in her mind. Such doubt, she ignored, however, thinking that if things turned out badly, it would only amuse her. "Ok Flonne-chan," she taunted, "You're gonna cook for Prince Laharl! Give it your best, alright?"
Now, at last, Flonne was actually scared. "Etna-san, I know this may sound out of place but... I haven't ever cooked before... is this wise?"
'As I suspected', Etna thought with a wicked grin. "Of course it's wise Flonne, go ahead. You'll never get anywhere without practice, and I'll bet that an angel like you will do fine first time, right?" Poor Etna actually believed that last statement. It would be funny, because the meal wouldn't be brilliant, but she never expected the disaster ahead, which was bound to reflect badly on her in the future. A disaster that went beyond the process of creating a meal, and even further than the awful end result...
~:~:~:~
Etna shoved the door open, and dragged her new toy through the entrance to the castle's kitchen. Penguin-like creatures known as 'Prinnies' bustled about, whether they were cooking, cleaning or eating, Flonne couldn't quite tell because there was so much going on. Laharl really was pushy...
"ALRIGHT PRINNIES!" Etna bellowed beside her, and she winced, inching away a tiny bit, "LISTEN UP! FLONNE HERE IS COOKING, AND YOU LOT ARE FETCHING, YA GOT THAT?"
Every prinny nodded his or her head with a resounding 'YES DOOD'! Flonne wove through the masses, and located a cook book, flipping through in a struggle to find something... simple. But then, Laharl would probably want something elaborate, and she would not disappoint him! Smiling, she picked a complex and delicious looking dish from the numbers, and turned to a prinny to list the ingredients she would need. The prinny nodded, and a group of them shuffled over to the fridge. Etna sat down on a chair, and began lazily ordering the spare prinnies to do rather pointless tasks elsewhere in the castle. Finally, there were just 4 prinny left, Etna and Flonne. And at this point, Flonne had all her ingredients... and no space to cook. She sweat dropped, giving a nervous giggle, and turning to the prinnies. "Prinnies, could you please take some of these things back for now?"
The prinnies also sweat dropped, but obeyed, and stood back aprehensively, as Flonne read the first instruction. "Let me see... pre heat the oven to 180 degrees..." she glanced around the room, seeking an 'oven'. Locating the square machine, she found a dial, and flipped it to 180. Anxiously, a prinny slipped forward and murmured into her ear.
"Um, miss Flonne, that's a fan forced oven..."
"So?" she asked sweetly.
"So, as a general rule, you turn the recommended temperature to 20 degrees lower..."
"Ohhh!" Flonne exclaimed, and quickly switched the dial back to 160 degrees. "Thankyou prinny!" she said, and raced back to the book. Etna read the headings Flonne had marked out; quiche, pavlova, roast chicken, and a variety of vegetables. She had also marked out an over-sized mud cake. Etna laughed, knowing that a first time cook could most certainly not succeed at this task, and offered (for her own hide) to cook the cake, at the very least, herself. Flonne appeared very grateful for the help, and hurried on to making the other items. Etna was right, she just had no idea how much so, as pans crashed, flour flew, plates shattered, cheese split, eggs cracked at inopportune moments, sauce splashed out on the walls, and the floor was painted in a variety of vegetable scraps. Flonne herself was all white from the flower, had egg yolk on the front of her dress, sauce in her hair, a shard of a plate lodged in the knot of her ribbon (who knows how) and a leaf of lettuce had made a rather dazzling show as a brooch.
The prinnies were covered in flour, sauce and egg yolk.
Etna was covered in chocolate sauce, which had erupted in her face when Flonne slipped on a stray banana peel right into Etna, knocking her forwards. They all looked at each other in horror. Flonne gave a shaky 'well done everyone', and lowered her gaze.
"Come on," Etna groaned, "Laharl will wake any moment. Prinnies, clean up this mess, Flonne, you're coming with me, we gotta clean up ourselves, and then you can come back here, and collect the food." Miraculously, the food was still fine, though Etna had made a vanilla cake after her accident. The prinnies cried out in dismay as the two humanoid women slipped out of the kitchen, and up to Etna's private shower, adjoined to her room.
"I'm afraid I haven't an awful lot your size or style, Flonne, but it'll have to do," Etna apologized, handing Flonne some of her clothes. Flonne's eyes widened at the sight of the outfit, and she aburptly fainted, leaving Etna to shower and change. She had some of the prinnies wash Flonne's outfit at increased speed, with a knife to their backs, and by the time Flonne came round, her out fit was clean and dry, and Etna had even washed her hair. She used a cloth to clean her skin, and then got dressed once more, rushing down to the kitchen to collect the food, and produce it for the now wide-eyed and bushy tailed (metaphorically) Prince of The Netherworld.
"Enjoy," Flonne gasped, laying the food out before him. It all looked very appetizing, but he was still eyeing her suspiciously. "Um, if you're worried about poison or something," Flonne added, knowing he distrusted her, "Then you don't need to; Etna was watching me the whole time."
This somehow only made Laharl more suspicious. Nevertheless, he tentatively reached for his fork, and gave Etna a dubious look. She only shrugged, and mouthed; "well you ordered her to cook, didn't you?"
Flonne had lied before. She had, in fact, cooked for Laharl before now, a long time ago. She knew her cooking was dreadful, and poor Laharl had become sick, locked away in a room in Celestia for several days. She had vowed never to cook for him again, unless she got better, of course. But Flonne had never gotten a chance to practice, and she knew right now that Laharl would not like her food. On the outside, it appeared delectable. But the taste would be foul...
The food reached Laharl's mouth, and Flonne somehow succeeded in producing a 'sick bucket' from thin air, ready for the onslaught. The room grew deathly quiet as Laharl placed the food in his mouth, and swallowed. Flonne felt very cold, her face pale as ice. "W-what the hell..." the Prince began, before bulging his cheeks, and covering his mouth. Immediately, Flonne jammed the bucket in front of him, and he used it, coming up shakily, face as pale as Flonne's.
"I-I'm so sorry!" she squealed, "I've never cooked before, and I just knew I'd be dreadful, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm -"
The Prince glared at her. "Sorry? Are you tryin' ta kill me, wench??" he shouted, bending over the bucket again.
Flonne bit her lip. Could have been worse, she guessed, for in the past, Laharl had yelled for a whole 10 minutes. She had been terribly upset. Now, however, she supposed he thought she was an assassin or something. He always did have an over active imagination. "I really am sorry Laharl!!!" she cried before she could stop herself. He shot her another glare.
"Listen, lady, if you're gonna address me using my name, you'll refer to me as Laharl-sama. Am I clear?"
She nodded miserably. "L-Laharl-sama, if you want, I can get you some panadol, for your stomach..."
"Quit yapping!" he growled, "I don't trust you right now, angel, so let's get this straight; you serve me, by your own laws and mine, and that means no funny stuff. Also, you must keep focused, otherwise you'll screw up again, you understand?"
Again, she nodded, and backed away. "Etna!" Laharl shouted, "Get me some medicine or something, right now!"
"Yes highness!"
With that the crowd dispersed. Flonne felt absolutely awful; she'd lost the Prince's trust... if she had ever gained it in the first place, and to top it off, she'd made him ill! It was near unforgivable, and she felt that she must somehow make it up to him, and become a little more useful. Watching the other castle's occupants, she noticed how much Etna seemed to be at home, and how well she did around here. Obviously Etna was a great cook, the cake(s) she had made completely proved this. If Flonne asked her, what were the odds that Etna would help Flonne to settle in and become of use to Laharl?
There was only one thing for it, and Flonne knew she had to go for it; "Etna-san?"
"Yo," the red head replied, paying as little attention to her as possible, not out of rudeness, but out of habit.
"Um, it's just that, I think that really could have gone better, don't you think, Etna-san?"
"No kidding," she laughed, "Sorry Flonne, but you'll notice that the prince can be a real pain in the arse sometimes..."
"Please, there's no need to say that about him. He can't be that bad, can he?" Flonne interrupted. Etna snorted, dousing any hopes Flonne might have had, had she not known Laharl just as well as she did, "Anyway, I just wanted to ask for some of your assistance... please."
"Assistance?"
"That's right, I want to learn how to cook. And clean, and anything else Laharl-san, I mean, Laharl-sama will need from me. Will you help me, by teaching me?"
Etna mulled it over. Normally, she would demand a cash reward, but it really was quite pointless when this stupid angel was likely flat broke, and anyway, Laharl would probably make another mistake in the future if she didn't fix this pathetic creature soon. And much as she loathed him, Laharl was still family, and it would be a disgusting blight on their family's reputation should The Overlord be defeated by a simple angel in training's cooking skills. "Well... I think I might teach you how to cook, but I'm sure you know how to clean, right?"
That was actually true. Flonne was very good at cleaning, but she wasn't sure if her level was up to Laharl's standards. Nevertheless, she guessed she was pretty lucky that a demon like Etna had deigned to help her at all, and therefore, she accepted the offer.
"ETNA, and... ANGEL!!!" a roar sounded through the castle and it seemed that the two were once again needed. 'Hopefully, otau-san, I'll be able to save them both soon! Step one; make friends,' she thought, hurrying after the red head to continue to do Laharl's bidding.
A/N: Welcome to my first ever Disgaea fic. I've been pretty successful when it comes to fan fiction so far, though I admit rather shame-faced, that I have yet to complete a fiction, my updates are reasonably regular, provided something big-ish doesn't get in the way. Anyway, this is a sort of AU (alternate universe) fan fiction, and yes, it is a Laharl and Flonne fic, in which I hope to keep everyone in character. To a certain extent. By the way, that section in italics at the top did occur before the rest of the story. The reason for which Laharl and Etna lost their memories and all that will be revealed over the story somewhere. Please, tell me your thoughts on the story so far! Also: This fan fiction is dedicated to lil' white raven for her fantastic input and support of the idea. I am now going to advertise her: go to my profile. There shall be a number of links there somewhere. One of those will be labelled as lil' white raven's deviant art, on which at some point, there should be some lovely fan art, just for this story ^_^ there will also be a link to her profile, so you can all read her Tsubasa fics. She doesn't get enough love. ^_^ really, thanks lil' white raven!!!
NOTE: non-constructive critisicm, a.k.a flames, are NOT acceptable. If you have something to say, please, back it up without being rude about it. I want to get better at writing, and telling me I suck is definitely not helpful in developing. So, without further ado: review, for chapter two!!! (wow, it rhymes ^.^)
Kura.